Reader Participation: Pixarmania
If you’ve been to the theater lately, and you’re the kind of person who doesn’t miss the previews–not that anybody I know would miss the previews–you probably know that Pixar has a new movie coming out this month. Now, computer animation isn’t the novelty it once was–there’s Toy Story, but there’s also Shrek and Over the Hedge and Surf’s Up. They’re certainly not alone in their field. But there’s something about Pixar: they were the first, and their movies still feel like they operate on a higher plane than whatever the other studios put out. It’s a beautiful thing, a new Pixar movie.
Maybe I’m biased. Where I live, Pixar is Kind of A Big Deal–their campus inhabits a good-sized chunk of physical and psychic space in the town where I work. The stories about the perks and shenanigans of working there–ranging from confirmed true to total head-scratchers–could fill a small encyclopedia, and everybody, at some time, has eaten lunch at Semifreddi’s cafe, only to steal a peek through the green semi-opaque fence at the Pixar grounds (No lie: once, there seemed to be some kind of enormous picnic going on, and a helicopter landed in the middle. Clearly, I work in the wrong office.).
But I really do enjoy Pixar’s movies. My favorite, though it seems to have gone out of style, is Toy Story 2–consistently wittier than the original, and without the creepy villain kid. I’m also fond of The Incredibles, which cracks me up and makes me cry AND has Sarah Vowell, which can only be a good thing.
So, readers, tell me. They’ve been around awhile now, long enough to have a long-ish filmography. What’s your favorite Pixar film, and why?
June 11th, 2007 at 6:50 pm
Tough question, I love them all! But my favorite is probably the Incredibles. I love the costumes and the voices and the pop culture references … and the whole “play to your strengths not your weaknesses” mixed with “you don’t have to be perfect” message that is so often lost in films … especially cartoons where they want characters to be perfect, or become perfect by the end of the movie. So I love Nemo and Toy Story II and Monsters Inc. but the Incredibles wins more of my heart than the others.
June 11th, 2007 at 11:19 pm
Good call. The Incredibles is a really good movie–I love all of the characters, and Michael Giacchino’s music is pretty awesome. Nice choice!
(Also, I always forget about Monsters, Inc.. It’s so good, though!)
June 12th, 2007 at 2:44 am
I love Nemo…there is no character as fabulous as Bruce anywhere else